Richard Gifford

Gifford (died 1559) was an English spy who was sent by Queen Mary I of England to France in 1559 to sabotage the reputation of King Francis II of France and Mary, Queen of Scots. He sent the actors Roger and Jenny to pretend to be King Francis and Queen Mary and terrorize rural peasants, making it seem as if the French royals were cruel tyrants. Gifford, pretending to be a French royal guard, killed the two actors after they confessed their roles to the real Queen Mary and Queen Catherine de Medici, having mistaken the two royals for other peasants. Mary overpowered Gifford just as King Francis arrived to rescue them, and he was trampled to death by a panicking horse.